Jusendo Aftermath
by MZephyr
Summary: RanmaxAkane. This is my suggestion for how the manga should have ended, after Ranma killed Saffron at Jusendo.
1. Jusendo and Jusenkyo

**Jusendo Aftermath  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. I consider _Sendai_ to be my definitive resolution story based on how the manga actually ended. However I, like many others, was not particularly happy with the ending in the manga. This story represents one possible vision for how the manga _should_ have ended. Everything is the same up to the point where Ranma has killed Saffron, restored Akane, and is holding her lifeless body in his arms. Things diverge after that point.

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**Chapter 1. Jusendo and Jusenkyo**

Once again, Ranma Saotome had been victorious in battle, but at a terrible cost. For the first time ever, he had been forced to kill an opponent. The only way to stop Saffron, the only way to save Akane, had been to literally tear the Phoenix avatar into pieces. Yet it was all for naught. A hollow victory. Saffron was reborn. Akane was dead.

Ranma couldn't believe that he had failed. He was frantically checking Akane's body for vital signs and finding nothing. No pulse. No heartbeat. No breath. It seemed that Saffron would have vengeance after all. Ranma felt as though his heart was ripping in half, as torn apart metaphorically as Saffron's body had been physically.

Off to the side the others stood quietly, heads bowed. It seemed incomprehensible that after such an epic battle, after so much sacrifice, that Akane's life was not restored. They watched as Ranma pulled off his shirt and tenderly pulled it onto her, covering her nudity for her own dignity, heedless of the silently watching witnesses. They could tell that he was murmuring words to her, too quietly to be overheard. Mousse began to wonder if Ranma might take his own life, in order to follow his fiancée Akane Tendo into death.

Burning tears dripped down Ranma's cheeks, falling onto the lifeless face of the girl in his arms. His throat was raw as he tried to form the words he had never been able to tell her. "Wake up, Akane. There's something I need to tell you. I've waited too long to say it, but it can't wait another moment. Akane? Can't you hear me? Please, Akane. I need you ... to hear me now ... I wanted to tell you ..." There was no response. There would never be a response. He couldn't continue, couldn't say the words, knowing it was too late. They screamed through his mind, tearing his spirit as they went. ‹I wanted to tell you that ... _I love you_!›. One word forced itself past the block, one word, razor edged, glittering sharp, shredding his throat and his heart as it flew past. One word, her name. "_Akane_!" It emerged as a soul-searing scream, with all of the force of his vast reserves of ki behind it, shaking the leaves on trees over a kilometer away.

A whisper, an impossible whisper, reached his ears. "Ranma?" Her eyelids fluttered and opened. She looked up into the grief ravaged face of the young man she knew so well, wondering at his pain. Weakly, she managed to raise fingertips to trace the tears on his cheeks.

Incredulously, he opened his eyes and stared, half afraid that it was only a phantasm of his desires, wondering if his recent ordeals had driven him mad. "A-Akane? How?" He realized the answer didn't matter, all that mattered was that it was true, she was alive. A broad grin appeared on his face, his face that he had thought would never hold a smile again. Ranma crushed her to his body, shouting for all the world to hear, "You're alive! Thank God, you're alive!"

"I ... I heard you," she whispered, her mouth near his ear. "I don't know where I was, but I heard you. I heard everything. And I knew that I had to come back."

‹Everything?› Ranma wondered, bewildered by the weight of meaning she put into the word. ‹What does she mean? I didn't say anything meaningful, didn't manage to say the most important thing of all. All I managed at the end was to scream her name.›

Hearing Ranma's joyful declaration, the others came running, unable to believe it was true. Yet it was, her eyes were open and looking at Ranma. Ryoga knocked Ranma down in his eagerness to get to Akane and welcome her back to life.

"Akane, you're alive! You really are alive!" Ryoga shouted, holding her shoulders and shaking her to emphasize his joy at her recovery.

"Yes, Ryoga, I know," she said, forcing the words past teeth gritted with pain. "But could you please let go? I'm not exactly feeling at my best, right now." Shamefaced but still jubilant, Ryoga released her, making room for the others. Mousse, Plum, Plum's father, the panda, even Shampoo, all gathered around Akane in awe at her miraculous recovery. In their preoccupation, they paid little mind to the Phoenix people, collecting their newly hatched and reborn lord, Saffron. The former enemies flew off, seeing no point to further battle.

Ranma lay where he'd fallen on the ground, pondering Akane's words. She couldn't have heard his profession of love, since he had not managed to force the words out. So what had she meant? She must have heard him say that he had something to tell her, and now she would expect him to do so. But could he? Already he felt his resolve slipping away, evaporating in the face of her probable rejection. How could she ever love a cursed freak such as himself?

Listening to Mousse and Plum congratulating Akane in the background, hearing her respond, Ranma tried to focus on what he should do next.

He clenched his fists, fighting himself, trying to screw his courage to the sticking place, to finally tell her how he felt. What did it matter if she couldn't return his affection? But he couldn't lie to himself. It did matter.

‹I can't. I just can't. I couldn't bear to hear her tell me that she'll never love me.› He looked over to where Akane sat with her back propped against a rock, face pale, wearing only his shirt. ‹Coward!› he screamed at himself. ‹A moment ago you were in agony because you had never dared to tell her. Now you have her back and you're afraid to? You're going to refuse because you're afraid? I thought that Ranma Saotome wasn't scared of anything!› He picked up a pebble and listlessly crushed it to dust between his fingers. ‹Yeah, I ain't scared of anything. Except for cats, and water, and having my heart broken.›

He looked over to see Ryoga talking quietly to Akane, smiling at her, she smiling back at him. A flare of jealousy roared through him, despite the help Ryoga had recently provided. ‹How dare he? How dare he act like that around Akane, after the way he's dishonored her? If I could only break my promise and tell her, she'd smash him into paste!› As he continued to watch the scene, the jealousy quieted and his eyes turned sad, wishing that he could talk to her like that, tell her how he really felt.

At that moment Akane turned her head a little and saw Ranma gazing at her, looking sad. She wondered what he was feeling, what he was thinking; wondered why he had not yet reaffirmed the words of love she had heard him say. She smiled at him, trying to give him a little encouragement, hoping that he would come over and talk to her, tell her what she wanted, needed, to hear.

Ranma saw that smile directed at him and felt his heart melt. It was her beautiful smile that he had first fallen in love with, from the very day he met her, although he had been unable to admit it then, even to himself. Her smile was the reason that none of the other girls had ever been able to capture his attention. The memory of that smile, and the hope of seeing it again in the future, was a prize with which no one else could compete.

Her smile gave him strength now, and he felt resolve grow within him once more. ‹Afraid I may be, but I will not be a coward. I will face this, I will tell her how I feel, and damn the consequences.› He got up and took the few steps necessary to crouch down beside her, taking Akane's hand in his and looking into her eyes. Without looking to either side, he said, "I'd appreciate it if the rest of you would leave us alone for a while."

Mousse smiled, and started to step away. Ryoga hesitated, feeling old animosity for his rival, and the habitual desire to convince Akane that he, Ryoga, was the one worthy of her, as Ranma could never be. However, Mousse reached down and grabbed the shoulder of Ryoga's shirt, pulling the perpetually lost boy up and walking away with him, herding Shampoo at the same time. The panda followed Shampoo, and Plum and her father walked away behind him. Mousse made sure to go a distance sufficient to allow the other two their privacy, and said softly to Ryoga, but just loudly enough for Shampoo to also hear, "I thought you had decided to give up on her. You know that she loves Ranma, and he loves her. If anyone could possibly have doubted that before, what happened with Saffron should be more than sufficient proof. She gave her _life_ for him. And he risked his to save her, battling and killing a ... whatever Saffron was." Ryoga scowled and kicked at some stones, hating to admit the truth even now. Shampoo's eyes were clouded, turning back to look at the couple.

Ranma was still holding Akane's hand and staring into her eyes, but had not yet spoken. Akane tentatively tried to prompt him with his name. "Ranma ...?"

The young martial artist dropped his eyes down into his lap, and spoke quietly. "A little while ago, you said you heard 'everything.' What did you mean?"

Akane smiled gently. "I meant that I heard everything you said, just before I ... came back. You know, about ... love?"

Ranma's face screwed up in puzzlement. "But I didn't say it."

Akane's mouth popped open and her eyes widened in pain. She couldn't believe that he was denying his feelings for her _again_. It was like this every time, he'd say something halfway sweet, and then he'd turn around and deny it or make as if it was just a joke. If she'd had the strength, she would have jumped up and run off, trying to get away. "You ... you ... how could you?" She burst into tears.

Ranma was appalled at what his stupid mouth had done. It was as if he had a second curse, one which would never allow him to say what he really meant, always picking his words to cause the maximum trouble or pain instead.

"Akane ... wait ... wait! I didn't mean it like that. Please, listen!"

She refused to look at him, but got the tears under control. In a heartbroken voice, she said, "Never mind, Ranma. I understand. You could never love an uncute, unsexy tomboy like me. I'm sorry you were put to so much trouble saving my life." She sniffled.

"Akane, listen!" ‹Think fast and get it right for once, baka!› he shouted at himself internally. "Akane, I ... I don't know how you heard me but ... I love you. I do, I love you. I've loved you for some time now, but just haven't been able to admit it, not even to myself. I ... I can't bear the thought of not being with you. I want to be with you," His voice broke, but he didn't stop to clear his throat. If he didn't say it now, he might never say it. "... now and forever. I need you, I don't think that I could survive without you. When I thought you were dead a little while ago ... I only wanted to lie down and die beside you, so that we could still be together. Please, I love you."

Akane had looked up during this speech, staring at him through her still red and glistening eyes. "You ... you do?"

Ranma nodded his head. Having finally spoken the words, he decided that they bore repeating. "Yes. I love you. I love you, now and forever."

Akane threw her arms around him, holding him close, as though she never wanted to let him go again. "Baka! Why did you deny it then? Why did you tell me you hadn't said it?"

Ranma pulled back just enough to look her in the face, still holding her firmly. He sighed. "You know me, whenever I need to say anything important, I'm practically guaranteed to make it sound wrong. All I meant was ... before you opened your eyes, I was thinking those words. Thinking them, though I couldn't say them. I had waited to say them until it was too late. But I did scream them inside my head. If you heard me then somehow, wherever you were, you heard what I was thinking, not what I was saying. That's what I meant by 'I didn't say it'."

"Oh," she said quietly, then buried her face against his neck. "You do though? You really do? Love me?"

"Yes, Akane, I do. I love you. I'll always love you." He paused, uncertain how to put his next question. "And, um, you? I mean do you, well ... do you feel ..." He stopped, too embarrassed to ask outright if she loved him too.

Akane giggled against his neck. "Sorry, Ranma. I guess that I was as scared to tell you as you were to tell me." She put her lips beside his ear and whispered. "I love you, Ranma Saotome, with all my heart and all my soul."

Ranma stuttered his next question nervously. "So does that ... uh ... mean that you ... um ... really would like to get married? Someday?"

Akane giggled again. "Yes, baka. But I expect you to ask me that again once we're back in Japan, and you'd better have a ring ready when you do." She turned a little to the side, allowing herself to relax in his arms, keeping one of her arms around him but mainly just allowing Ranma to hold her. She was still exhausted after her ordeal, and it was hard to stay awake. Without looking up at him, she asked, "So does that mean you don't mind the idea of marrying an uncute, unsexy tomboy?"

Ranma groaned. "Come on, give me a break here! I admit that I've said some pretty stupid things in the past, but in my defense, I'm not the only one at fault. On the one hand, we've got our fathers doing everything they can to see us wed, whether we want to be or not. On the other, you've said some pretty cutting things yourself. And, I'll admit, pretty often I've been the baka that you call me.

"But if you must know, you are neither uncute nor unsexy. Tomboy though ... well, that's part of who you are, what I like about you. You're not only beautiful, but you're athletic, you're into martial arts, you like the sort of video games and manga that I do. Things like that. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, you're the most beautiful tomboy that I know, especially when you smile." She was smiling now.

"Mmmm," she responded sleepily. "Ranma, when I wake up, would you please tell me again so that I'll know it wasn't a dream? I don't think that I can stay awake any longer." She settled back further into his arms, and shortly her breathing became deep and regular and he knew that she had in fact fallen asleep. Making an effort not to disturb her, he turned his head and caught Mousse's eye. The Chinese boy silently moved closer.

"Mousse," he whispered, "can you and the others see about setting up a camp for us nearby. I don't want to wake Akane, and I have a feeling that she's going to sleep through 'til morning." The other boy nodded his head and left to do as asked, taking everyone else with him.

A couple of hours later, Mousse returned to inform Ranma that the camp was ready. He had other news to relate as well. Genma Saotome, Ranma's father, was once more restored from panda to human form. Also Shampoo had finally tired of Genma following her everywhere, as panda or man, and had released him from the mental imprinting which had made him slave to her every whim.

Cognizant of Ranma's recent bout, Mousse offered to take Akane and carry her to their camp, but Ranma waved him off. Moving very carefully, continuing to hold his sleeping fiancée close, Ranma stood. Following the Chinese boy, he hiked slowly away from the wreck of Jusendo mountain, to a clearing beside a stream where the camp had been set up. Shampoo scowled at the sight of Ranma entering the clearing with Akane in his arms. She strode angrily forward, intent on making a scene, but Ranma glared her into silence.

Mousse continue to lead him toward the tents, holding the flap of one open. Ranma quietly deposited Akane on a bedroll inside this tent, while thinking over the looks he had just exchanged with the young Amazon female outside. He realized that it was time for a long overdue confrontation. When Ranma emerged, he motioned for Shampoo to follow him and he led her a short distance from camp. Mousse followed discreetly, staying back a little.

Shampoo smiled with happy expectation. "Is airen ready come home with Shampoo? Village close now. Shampoo and Ranma go home together, raise many strong warriors."

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. "No Shampoo, I am not coming home with you, now or ever. I love Akane, and I'm going to marry her."

Shampoo gasped, and shook her head in denial. "No! Ranma no love violent girl. Airen can't. Love Shampoo. Law say must marry."

Ranma spoke quietly but forcefully. "That's your law, Shampoo, not mine. I do not love you. I have never loved you, and I never will love you. I will not marry you, ever. The only girl I'm going to marry is Akane."

Shampoo's features clouded over, and her eyes narrowed. "Akane obstacle. Obstacle is for killing." With a look of determination, she turned back toward the camp.

Ranma grabbed her shoulder, growling. He was fed up with the inability of this girl to see reason, with her willingness to kill the one he loved and somehow think he would still marry her. His mind recalled an image from yesterday, of Shampoo prepared to break Akane's shrunken body, dooming her to death. He forced Shampoo to turn around and face him, and she nearly whimpered at the look in his eyes. He saw Mousse start forward, but then hesitate, so Ranma ignored him for now.

"That's quite enough, Shampoo," he said in a voice which would have sounded cold on the surface of Pluto. "This farce ends now. It is you who are the obstacle, an obstacle to my happiness. In case you haven't been paying attention, allow me to point out that Saffron stood between me and saving Akane's life. Because of that, Jusendo mountain was destroyed, and I killed Saffron, never guessing that he could return to life. If you threaten Akane again, _you_ will die; I swear this on my honor as a martial artist. I will not tolerate your interference in my life any longer. As you say, your village is nearby. Go home, Shampoo. Go home, and find some other guy who wants you, for most surely I do not."

Shampoo stood there quivering, eyes looking at her feet. "But Shampoo love Ranma."

His voice was still icy, offering no hope to her. "Yeah, right. Have you ever even seen _me_? Who I am? What I want? If you did love me, if you cared for me even a little, then you would care about what I want. In any event, it doesn't matter. At the risk of being repetitive, I do not love you. I cannot love you. You want something from me that I cannot give to you. It is time for you to learn the hard lesson that you cannot have everything that you want."

Shampoo had not moved. In a forlorn voice, she pleaded, "Council will punish Shampoo." In despair, looking up through her lashes, she saw that Ranma was unmoved by her fate. He stood watching her with cold eyes.

Mousse moved closer, and shook his head over this, drawing Ranma's attention by the movement. The male Amazon was torn. Shampoo had once been the proudest warrior of the village, and it troubled him deeply to hear her resort to such tactics, unworthy of her and her training. He could not bear to hold his silence any longer. "Yes, that is so," he admitted, ostensibly addressing Shampoo but pitching his voice to include Ranma. "You will be forced to work alongside the men of the village through the next harvest. The greater punishment is the loss of face you will experience from admitting defeat."

Shampoo glared at Mousse, her expression promising retribution. She was angry both for the truth he had told and that in the saying, he had removed her last hold over Ranma. As for Ranma himself, he felt no pity for the Chinese girl, had felt none even before Mousse's declaration. The entire situation was of Shampoo's making. It was fitting that she should bear the punishment for it. "Shampoo, remain here. I will not have you back at our camp. Mousse, come with me. You can pick up your things and Shampoo's. Then I want both of you to leave. Don't take this the wrong way, but I really hope that I never see either of you again." Mousse nodded, and followed Ranma back to the camp. Shampoo started crying, but stayed where she was, too frightened of what she had seen in Ranma's eyes to risk defying him again.

Left alone, Shampoo ransacked her brain for words she might say to change Ranma's mind, to soften his abruptly hardened heart. Then she saw that she wasn't even to be given the chance to try. Her heart breaking, she observed Mousse walking toward her alone, carrying their packs. Ranma was not with him; apparently he had no intention of even saying a final good-bye. She looked through the trees and saw the object of her desire standing back at the edge of the camp, staring at her, his arms folded in front of his chest. She realized that he would not tolerate her approach right now. Her only choices were to either do as he asked and go home in defeat, or to trail behind them as they made their way back to Japan, hoping to find some way to change his mind.

But even as she began to consider the latter, to plan new schemes, a spark of pride awoke in Shampoo's breast. She was a warrior of the Joketsuzoku! She felt sudden contempt that she would lower herself to even consider crawling after a male like some weak outsider female. In that moment she found the strength inside her to accept that he had made his decision, that he would never love her. Resolutely, she turned away from Ranma, turning her face toward the village of which she had seen so little for the last two years. To her surprise, she felt a spark of happiness that she was finally going home, even with the knowledge of her failure and the promised punishment looming in her near future.

After Shampoo and Mousse disappeared from sight, Ranma turned around to see Ryoga watching him. "So you really did it, huh?" Ryoga asked. "Told Shampoo that you would never have her, that you want Akane?"

"Yeah, Ryoga. I've told Akane that I love her, and that I want to marry her." Ranma watched wearily as Ryoga's eyes closed in pain.

After a minute Ryoga cleared his throat huskily, and said, "You'd better take damn good care of her, Ranma, or else I'll show up and clobber your ass." Ranma merely nodded, and after a moment Ryoga went on. "Besides, I've been thinking that it's time to see whether things can work out between Akari and me. Do you, uh, suppose that we could swing by her farm on the way back to Nerima? I'm afraid that I might not find it on my own."

"Will do, Ryoga. In fact, I'll be happy to do that. I don't want you coming by the Tendo's house as P-chan anymore." Ranma paused thoughtfully, and then continued. "In fact, I want you to release me from my promise to you. If Akane and I are going to marry, we can't have a huge secret like this between us. She has to know about P-chan. I don't suppose you'd do the honorable thing and tell her yourself?"

Ryoga looked horrified at the thought, and shook his head.

Ranma sighed. "Then I'll have to do it myself. I'll hold off on telling her until after we drop you off at Akari's, but I have to tell Akane the truth."

Ryoga looked frightened, but the determination in the other boy's face made it clear that Ranma was finally ready to tell Akane the truth, promise or no promise. ‹Besides,› he admitted to himself, ‹Ranma's right. If he's going to marry Akane, then he can't keep that from her.› With a heavy sigh he looked off to the side and said, "Yeah, you're right. Okay, man, I release you from your promise to keep my curse a secret. Go ahead and tell Akane the truth. I'll try to stay away from the two of you. I imagine that would be best for my health, anyway, after you tell her."

Ryoga wandered over to help Plum and her father where they stood beside the fire, preparing to cook a meal. Genma was standing off to one side, staring out at nothing but remembering everything that Shampoo had made him do while he was under her control. He was seriously considering shifting back to his panda form, in which he could often ignore human concerns, such as embarrassment and honor.

Being careful not to disturb Akane, Ranma crept into the tent and knelt beside his sleeping fiancée. She looked so peaceful there, lying almost too still, but her cheeks were rosy with life, and he could hear her quiet breathing. ‹I gotta feeling I'm gonna have a new set of nightmares to add to the neko-ken training and the day I got my curse,› he thought to himself. He slipped out of the tent, found his bedroll, then brought it back and spread it out beside Akane. ‹I don't care what the others think. I'm going to make sure that I'm here beside her when she wakes up.›

Ranma came back out when called for dinner, and ate his meal in silence. No one else seemed very inclined to conversation either, all feeling overwhelmed by the events of the day, although they gave Ranma numerous sidelong glances. After all, it wasn't every day that one got to witness a teenage boy destroy a mountain and kill an immortal being, however temporarily. When dinner was over, everyone but Genma wandered off to their tents and bedrolls, and Ranma decided to take the opportunity for a quiet discussion with his father.

"Pop? Akane and I have decided to marry." His father's eyes widened in amazement, amazement almost immediately replaced with the gleam of self interested scheming, and Ranma hurried on before the old man could say something stupid. "I'd like your promise that you'll leave us alone to get married when we're ready, and not try another stupid stunt like that attempted wedding before this mess started. If you'll do that for me, then I promise you won't have to wait very long. That goes for Akane's dad too. You need to make sure that Tendo-san understands, that he doesn't interfere with us either. In other words, if both of you will just be a little patient and give us some time and space, then the two of you will finally get your wish, and 'the schools will be united.' Okay?"

Genma was too weary to dance around for joy, so instead took the time to consider his son's words. He also remembered some of the more foolish things he had done recently, even if some of them had been performed under mental coercion. Clearing his throat, he spoke with deliberate gravity. "Very well, boy. So long as you keep your word not to put it off too long, I promise that we'll let you set your own pace. And I'll try to convince Tendo and your mother as well."

"Thanks, pop." Ranma got up, feeling more tired than he could ever remember, and entered the tent once more. Pulling off his pants, he lay down on his side so he could look at Akane's face as he tried to go to sleep. Unexpectedly, he realized that tears were running down his face. He irritably brushed them away. ‹What is this? I never cry as a guy, only as a girl. That's twice in one day.› He placed his hand gently on Akane's wrist, where he could feel her pulse, as the campfire outside started to die down and it became too dark to see.

Mercifully he was too exhausted for dreams of any sort that night, and the next thing he knew he was waking up to daylight and birdsong. He opened his eyes to see that Akane's eyes were already open, looking back at him and smiling.

"Good morning, Ranma," she said quietly, but warmly.

His voice was more tender than customary when he responded. "Good morning, Akane. I love you, now and forever. I want to marry you, and stay with you always."

Tears glistened in her eyes as she reached over to stroke his cheek gently. "You remembered," she whispered. "Thank you. I love you too, with all my heart and all my soul, and I want to marry you as well." Hesitantly, feeling very unsure of herself, she moved her face closer to his.

Ranma nearly panicked as he realized her intention, but he mentally swatted himself upside the head and shouted, ‹What are you waiting for, jerk!› Tentatively he moved his own face forward, and their lips met softly, sharing their first kiss. They both felt the world shatter, and remold itself into a new form, one which could accommodate the concept of their sharing such an intimacy. Reluctantly they parted, looking at one another in awe, and then simultaneously decided that this was an experiment worth trying again. They continued for some time, until biological necessity insisted that it was time to get up.

A short time later they were outside, making a breakfast of some leftovers from the previous evening. Both Genma and Ryoga were still asleep, their snores combining to make an awful racket, and they could also just make out some splashing sounds that Plum was making upstream. "So what happened after I fell asleep yesterday?" Akane wanted to know.

"Not much," Ranma responded. "I sent the others off to make camp so I wouldn't have to wake you and could put you to bed. Oh, and I told Shampoo that I was going to marry you, and that I wanted her and Mousse to go home to their village. They left shortly after."

Akane stared at him in disbelief. "She's gone? You mean it? Shampoo really gave up, and she's gone? I don't believe it."

Ranma smirked. "Well you'd better believe it, 'cause they really are gone." His face fell a little. "Of course, that means that I'm the one who's going to have to break the news to Cologne when we get back to Japan. Just the thought I needed to make my day."

Akane shook her head, still having trouble wrapping her mind around this concept. "It just seems so impossible. She's been chasing you and threatening me for so long, to just have her ... go, like that." She looked up at him, her eyes fierce. "Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that she's gone. It just seems so unlike her, to give up like that."

Ranma cleared his throat nervously. "Well, yeah, except I think maybe you're forgetting yesterday. What I did. And the fact that I did it to protect you. I think that Shampoo finally realized that I'd been pushed as far as I could be, and that a limit had been reached that would have been dangerous to pass. So yeah, she's gone home to face her punishment, which by the way, it turns out isn't as serious as she always pretended that it would be."

Ranma thought for a moment more, and then told her. "One other thing from last night. I had a talk with pop, told him we've decided to get married. But I told him that we had to work our way up to marriage at our own rate. Without interference from him, or from your dad. I asked him to convince your father that they should leave us alone for a while. He agreed, as long as we don't take too long. Which shouldn't be a problem, as I really don't want to wait too long any more. I just hope that you feel the same way."

Akane reached out and placed a hand along his cheek, then smiled at him. "Don't worry, Ranma. I don't want to wait too much longer either. It's getting close to the end of the current school year. What would you say to summer break during our senior year? Or is that too soon?"

Ranma thought this over. Picking a specific date made the whole idea seem a lot more real, and that made him start feeling nervous. It was one thing to think of marrying her in the abstract, it was another thing entirely to contemplate the actual ceremony. On the other hand, he was done with dithering about this. It was time to be decisive, however nervous he might feel. "That sounds good. A Sunday at the end of July, maybe? We should probably talk to Kasumi before picking the exact day."

Akane nodded happily. She could hardly believe that this was really happening. Ranma had finally told her that he loved her, they were planning to get married, and even deciding when. Granted the date they were discussing was over five months away, but they would both probably need that long just to get used to the idea. She wasn't going to fall into the trap of thinking that everything would be perfect from this moment forward, but for the first time she felt confident that things really would work out between them. Silently she shifted position to sit right at his side, putting her arms around him. As he engulfed her in his arms in turn, she closed her eyes and let out a little sigh of contentment, losing herself in the peace of the moment.

After Ryoga and Genma awoke and had some breakfast, Ranma told Akane to take it easy while they broke camp. She decided to head upstream and bathe where Plum had been doing so earlier. She came back wearing some of Ranma's spare clothes. His were really the best choice, as they had been chosen both to fit a girl a little shorter and bustier than herself, while also fitting a boy taller and, well, a lot less busty than herself. Admittedly, it felt a bit strange to be wearing boxers, let alone _his_ boxers, but it was a lot better than walking around in a shirt and nothing else. She also liked the way, when she first appeared wearing them, that Ranma stared at her and licked his suddenly dry lips, before nervously resuming what he was doing. Without speaking she walked over to the remains of their fire and started dumping dirt over the ashes.

Just before they left, it started to rain. Ryoga whipped out his umbrella as the first drops started to fall, and offered to let Plum ride him, ahem, piggy-back, so that she could stay dry, an offer which she accepted. The others accepted their wet fate, with Ranma and Genma shifting to their cursed forms. Ranma forced Akane to climb up onto his back as well, as she was still too exhausted from her recent recovery for an extended hike. The panda shouldered both his own pack and Ranma's. With that, they left Jusendo behind.

Later that day, when they reached the floor of Jusenkyo valley, they found that between the pouring rain and the gushing of water from the broken dragon under Jusendo, that the pools had flooded. The bottom of the valley was little more than a large lake, and the waters of the cursed springs had all mixed together. Ranma, Ryoga and Genma all stared morosely at the view, knowing that they had once again lost an opportunity to bathe in the waters of the Nanniichuan and so remove their curses. Akane walked up to onna-Ranma, and placed a hand gently on the redhead's shoulder.

Ranma spoke contemplatively as he looked out over the waters. "Geez, can you believe this? After coming so far, I'd forgotten all about restoring my body to normal. All I cared about was getting the cold cursed water for you, Akane. I'm not sure when, but I guess somewhere along the line, I just stopped caring about my cure. I suppose in the end, I understand that my girl side was always a part of me anyway. Maybe it was never a curse to be cured to begin with."

Akane almost felt like crying, knowing that Ranma was only putting on a brave front. It wasn't that the curse mattered that much to her anymore; after all, she had never known Ranma without it. But she knew, better than anyone, how deeply disappointed he was at this moment, how badly he wanted to be a whole man again. She squeezed his shoulder lightly, and said, "I love you, Ranma. With or without the curse, you're the only man for me. I hope you find your cure one day, for your sake, but don't ever imagine that your curse will affect how I feel about you." Ranma reached up to his shoulder and placed his hand tenderly on top of hers.

They stayed with the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter Plum that night. Akane gently but firmly told Ranma that he was not to sleep in her room or tent again until after they were married. That night, as he had half-expected, Ranma awoke in terror from a nightmare in which the battle of Jusendo was replayed, except that this time he had been too late to save Akane's life. Unable to sleep until he proved to himself that she really was safe, Ranma quietly crept to where she was sleeping, and sat there for a long time listening to the sound of her breathing, gazing tenderly at the girl whom he had finally admitted he loved. Eventually, feeling reassured and growing sleepy once more, he returned to his own bed. Tomorrow they would start the journey back home.

* * *

**Author's note:**

I've added a page called "Fiancée Skill Ranking" to my web site. It lists all of the martial interactions in the manga between Ranma's fiancée's, and gives my conclusions based on that evidence for how their martial arts skills compare. Of course, I make no secret of the fact that I think Akane is more skilled than fanon usually gives her credit for being.


	2. Return Home

**Jusendo Aftermath  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. This is my suggestion for how the manga _should_ have ended, after Ranma killed Saffron at Jusendo.

* * *

**Chapter 2. Return Home**

A reduced group continued on in the morning, consisting of Genma, Ranma, Akane and Ryoga. They said good-bye to the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter, receiving from him a promise that he would write if and when the cursed pools were restored to their former states, and then left the valley. Slowly they made their way across China to the coast, and Akane gradually regained her strength, which pleased her greatly. As nice as it was to be so close to Ranma now that they had admitted their feelings, it had embarrassed her on the first several days to have to be carried by him for the last few hours of their march. Thankfully, by the time they reached the docks and began looking for a ship to take them across, she was feeling much her old self. Ryoga insisted on paying their fares; he was accustomed to carrying money on his unplanned journeys in order to handle unexpected contingencies.

However, it was no luxury liner on which they took passage. The best that they could do was a small cargo ship, and the entire party were sleeping in hammocks within the same compartment. This meant that despite her request to Ranma back at Jusenkyo, Akane found herself sleeping in the same room as her fiancé, about a meter above him.

Unsurprisingly, all three males were constantly splashed with cold water during the journey, causing them to spend much of the time in their cursed forms. Ranma grew exceedingly tired of having to constantly hide Ryoga in pig form or to seek out hot water to change him back, in order to keep Akane from discovering the lost boy's secret prematurely. The trip home couldn't pass quickly enough for him.

Finally, some twelve days after Jusendo, the ship docked at Niigata on the western shore of Honshu. Akane called home as soon as she was ashore in order to reassure her family and let them know that they were all safe. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell them much as her father had answered and he immediately started blubbering at the sound of her voice.

True to Ranma's promise, they stopped at the Unryuu home on the way back to Nerima. When they reached the farm in the early evening, Akari was ecstatic to see her Ryoga walk through the gate. With a squeal of glee, she rushed out and threw her arms around him, asking where he'd been, if he could stay for a while, and did he want to come and look at the latest batch of piglets. The warm welcome was better than a tonic for the lonely lost boy. Ryoga laughed and promised to go see them later, but suggested they might get a bath and a bite to eat first.

Reminded of her duties as hostess, Akari blushed a pretty shade of pink. She immediately invited them all to stay the night, showing them to rooms that they could use and preparing the furo for them as well. Then she went to prepare a dinner at least four times larger than she had planned for her grandfather and herself.

Ryoga informed the others the next morning of his intention to stay on the farm with Akari. Ranma shook the other boy's hand good-bye and wished him luck, while Akari gave Akane a hug and Akane promised her an invitation to the wedding when it finally came about. That left only the three of them, Akane, Ranma and Genma, walking down the dusty road in the direction of Nerima. Ranma decided to wait until they got home before telling Akane about Ryoga's curse. Not out of cowardice, he quickly reassured himself, but out of the vague feeling that Akane might need someone to comfort her after she learned the truth, and the very strong suspicion that she wouldn't want it to be him. It seemed to him that Kasumi would be the best person to handle matters. Best to wait, therefore, until the eldest Tendo sister was available.

The last few miles of their journey seemed to take longer than all of the rest added together. At long last the familiar gate came into view, with the upper floor of the house visible above the wall. Akane gave a strangled sob and took off running for the last block, calling out for her father and sisters.

Ranma stopped his father just outside the invitingly open gate, both to give the Tendo's the first few minutes alone together and also to have a quiet word with his father. As the sound of the happy and tearful reunion came to their ears, he said, "Remember to have that talk with Tendo-san, pop. You know, the one about Akane and me. You better do it soon, before he tries anything foolish. Okay?" Genma tried glaring, but his heart wasn't really in it, so he gave it up as a lost job and just nodded instead. Then they walked through the gate themselves, and Ranma's mother ran up to hug her son and welcome him back.

They waited until after lunch to tell the story of their adventures. It was a long time in the telling, with each of them correcting and commenting on what the others said. It was probably only the fact that few of the events were witnessed by both Akane and Ranma that prevented arguments from escalating into open fighting. In the end they told them everything with the exception of the personal decisions which the young couple had made for their future. They weren't quite ready to discuss that openly yet. Even so, it was fairly obvious that their relationship had been changed by their trials. There was a closeness between the two which had not been present before. It showed itself in their body language, in the way they sat close to one another without flinching, in the occasional glances they shared in moments of unspoken communication.

Indeed, if it weren't for the arguing, the others might have wondered if the pair were truly themselves. All in all, it was almost three hours later before they finally spoke of leaving Ryoga at the Unryuu farm and coming home to Nerima. The eyes of their audience betrayed a variety of reactions. Naturally, Akane's father Soun accepted everything they told him, while Nabiki and Nodoka had trouble believing parts of the tale. Nonetheless, Nodoka was smiling proudly at her son. It was difficult to tell to what degree Kasumi believed their story, but she was clearly pleased to have them back safe and sound.

Soun wiped the tears from his eyes, declaring, "Such hardships endured together! So much risked for one another, but victorious in the end! Surely it is time ... oof!"

He stopped his speech due to a well-placed elbow from his old friend Genma, who said, "Enough words, Tendo! I've been looking forward to a good game of shogi with you for some time. What do you say that the loser treats the winner to sake at Miyagi's tonight after dinner?"

Soun grinned happily. "You're on!" he said, and the two of them walked off together. Ranma sighed quietly, hoping that his father would keep his word and manage to convince Akane's father to leave them in peace for a while. He started gathering his courage, realizing that the time had come. Ranma looked over at Akane, who returned his gaze with a puzzled frown. She hadn't missed his sudden tenseness. He pointedly lifted his eyes toward the ceiling, in the direction of her bedroom.

Akane raised an eyebrow inquiringly, gently teasing him, but gave a slight nod to show that she would be waiting. Besides, she was rather tired of going around in boxers and without a bra. "If everyone will excuse me, I'm going to go up to my bedroom and change into some proper clothing." Ignoring Nabiki's smirk, she stood and headed for the stairs.

Kasumi also stood up. "I believe I should get started on dinner preparations. Auntie Nodoka, I believe that you offered to hang the laundry when it finished washing?" The older woman nodded, and Kasumi turned to her middle sister. "Nabiki .."

Nabiki quickly interrupted before she could have a chore foisted off on her. "The financial report is just coming on," she announced, frowning with warning. Kasumi sighed, shrugging, and left the room while Nabiki turned the television on. Ranma waited several minutes before standing, then headed to the kitchen, muttering about getting something to eat.

However, for once he had something other than his stomach on his mind. He addressed the eldest Tendo sister with quiet determination, deliberately pitching his voice so as not to be overheard. "Kasumi, I ... I'm about to tell Akane something ... something I promised myself a few days ago that I'd tell her once we got home. But I'm sure it's going to upset her, and she probably won't want me around after. Could you be ready to come upstairs and help her if she needs you?"

Kasumi looked worried. "Oh my, Ranma! You're not thinking of calling off the engagement, are you? And here I was just thinking that the experience brought the two of you closer together. You looked like you were getting along better than you ever did before.

Ranma looked around nervously. "Yeah, we are doing better, sorta. No, I'm not planning on calling off the engagement, or anything like that. It ... there's a secret that I kind of had to keep from her, not exactly by my choice, but I doubt she'll see it that way. She's gonna be pretty unhappy about. I can't explain it to you, partly because she deserves to hear about it first, but mostly because I think that she should be the one to decide who else knows and who doesn't."

A minute later, Ranma was knocking on the door to Akane's bedroom, smiling as he looked at her familiar duck-shaped nameplate. She called out "Come in" from inside the room and he entered, closing the door behind him. Akane had changed and was sitting on her bed. She was wearing a blue dress and looking beautiful, and Ranma felt all the more nervous seeing her like that. He hated the thought that what he was going to say would bring her distress. Slowly, he walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor at her feet, his courage deserting him. Unsure how to begin, he sat staring at his hands in his lap, long enough to worry Akane.

After enduring a couple of minutes of silence, she prompted him. "You wanted to speak with me, Ranma?"

He raised his eyes then, fidgeting nervously, a sheen of perspiration on his face. "Yeah, I did. I do. But this isn't easy for me to say. I ought to have told you a long time ago. You're not going to be happy that I didn't. No, that's too weak. I expect you're going to be furious about it. But I have to tell you, 'cause I can't be keeping a secret like this and still claim to love you."

His words filled Akane with ominous foreboding. "Wha ... what is it? Why didn't you tell me sooner if it's so serious?"

Ranma looked downcast. "You know me, right? I don't go back on my word. Ever. It's a matter of honor. It doesn't matter how stupid, once I give my word, I keep it. The problem is, I promised to keep something a secret. I swear to you, I had no idea what would happen, if I had ... I would never have done it. When I saw what was happening, I _wanted_ to let you know, and I tried to put a stop to it, but I couldn't just tell you because of my stupid sense of honor.

"Well, after Jusendo, I got released from that promise, so that I could finally tell you. But I figured it would be better to wait until we got back home first. You'll probably want me out of your sight for a while, and that's easier here than while we were traveling."

Akane's hands gripped her dress just above her knees, wrinkling the delicate fabric badly. In a shaky voice she said, "It was Shampoo, wasn't it? You've been sleeping with her all along, and keeping it from me."

Ranma's head shot up in shock. "Huh? No! Gaaah, no, that ain't it. How can you even _think_ that? No! No way! It was Ryoga." Akane's eyes widened. Ranma replayed what he had just said and turned green. "No! I mean, I made the _promise_ to Ryoga, not that I was sleeping with him! I mean ... what the hell am I saying?" He closed his mouth with a snap to get his tongue under control before it could spout any other idiocies.

Akane gave a relieved giggle at his discomfiture. It seemed that she might be able to lay one of her long-time fears to rest. "You promised Ryoga to keep something a secret, and he used it against you? In some way that's going to upset me? Is that why the two of you were always fighting?"

Ranma was still a bit flustered. "Yeah, more or less. It was a big part of the reason, anyway." He took a deep breath and decided to spit it out, before he lost his nerve. "You see, shortly after he arrived here in Nerima, I discovered that Ryoga had followed me to Jusenkyo. Where he picked up a curse. Which I was at least partly to blame for. And I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone about his curse."

Akane was staring at him blankly. "Ryoga has a Jusenkyo curse, too? Is that why he was so eager to go back to China with you? And I bet that's why he always carries that umbrella everywhere, isn't it? But why was he so scared to let anyone know? You, your father, Shampoo, Mousse, you all seem to manage all right without keeping it secret."

Ranma looked back down into his lap again, and spoke quietly and gravely. "His cursed form is a small, black pig."

Akane froze, both physically and mentally. Her brain struggled to process this information. ‹P-chan. He's talking about P-chan. My pet. Who sleeps with me. Who stays in my room, when he's home. Who knows all of my secrets.› She whispered a strangled "no." ‹P-chan. Whose neckerchief looks just like Ryoga's bandanna.› Her "no" was louder this time, with a note of anguish to it. ‹P-chan. Who Ranma always calls 'Ryoga.' And he always calls Ryoga 'P-chan.' And all of the pig-based insults. And he's jealous of P-chan. And he and P-chan are always fighting. And P-chan wanders off and gets lost.› Her final "No!" was a wail, heart-rending in tone, as she spun around on her bed and grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it.

"A-Akane?" Ranma was hesitant, not sure what to say next.

"Get out!" screamed the crying girl.

Before he could say anything further, Ranma felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Kasumi looking back down at him, her features inscrutable. She gave him a gentle push in the direction of the door. Taking the hint, he stood and left, pulling the door closed behind him.

Kasumi sat on the bed and put her arms around her weeping sister, holding her until the sobs finally started to subside. "Would you like to tell me about it?" she asked softly. Slowly, Akane nodded, and then related the story between long pauses she took to keep herself under control. Kasumi's face hardened into a frown as she learned of Ryoga's betrayal. When Akane finally ground to a halt, Kasumi hugged her more tightly and said, "I understand how very upset with the Hibiki boy you are, and you have every right to be. I'll make it clear to the rest of the family that he isn't welcome to come around here anymore." Kasumi paused, then went on, "Now, would you like to tell me how you're feeling about Ranma? You seemed pretty upset with him."

Fresh tears sprang to Akane's eyes. "He didn't tell me, Kasumi," she wailed. "He knew, and he didn't tell me! He let that bastard go on _using_ me, and he knew all the time. He said he loved me, but how can I believe him? If he could let someone go on doing something like that and not tell me?"

Kasumi drew in a sharp, hissing breath. Ranma had told Akane that he loved her? At last? She did not believe for a moment that Ranma would hurt her sister on purpose, so it was time for a little damage control. Making herself sound puzzled, Kasumi said, "But you said that Ranma had promised not to reveal Hibiki's secret, didn't you?" Sniffling hard, Akane nodded, quieting a little in response to Kasumi's calm voice. Reassured that she was on the right track, Kasumi went on gently. "And Ranma did try, didn't he? He dropped plenty of hints about it, and think about all of the times you got upset with him for trying to make P-chan leave."

The name she had given to the black pig she'd adopted as a pet acted on the girl like a hot poker, making her angry rather than disconsolate. Practically spluttering, Akane shouted, "He still should have told me!"

Kasumi felt a little handicapped by the fact that Akane still wasn't looking her in the face, thus negating any use of facial expressions in reasoning with her sister. She aimed for a maternal and long-suffering tone in her voice. "Akane, you know how Ranma is about his honor. He would never deliberately break his word, no matter how much he stood to lose as a result. But he came very close to doing just that for you. He _did_ try to help you to figure it out for yourself so that _you_ could put a stop to Hibiki's behavior.

"You said he told you that he loved you. Was that at Jusendo?" Akane nodded weakly. "You also said he got Hibiki to release him from his promise at Jusendo, which means he did so immediately after he finally admitted that he loved you. Then as soon as he reasonably could, once you were no longer constrained to travel with Hibiki and had returned to the familiar surroundings of your home, he told you the truth. Don't you think he deserves a little credit for doing all of that? I'll admit that someone else might have been able to manage things better, but this _is_ Ranma we're talking about, and heaven knows he's not very good at understanding other people or knowing how to deal with them. Although he seems to have gotten better than when he first showed up here."

Akane thought about what her sister was saying, which did seem to make some sense, despite her unwillingness to let go of the hurt. With a sigh she asked, "So you think that I should forgive him?"

Kasumi smiled at this sign that Akane was also growing up, that she was not going to allow her temper to rule her and blind her to reason. "I would say that's up to you, little sister. But if you really love him, and he loves you, then his behavior in this matter does not seem so terrible as to throw away that love. Still, being purely practical," Kasumi giggled, "you could no doubt use this to wring a concession or two out of him, if you play your cards right."

Akane frowned, thinking over Kasumi's words. Slowly, a glint replaced the tears in her eyes, and her lips curved into a small smile.

Dinner that evening was strained, the discord between the two teenagers affecting the others in their families. Akane chose not to speak to Ranma despite the fact that he was sitting right beside her. The apparent resumption of hostilities worried Genma. He kept glancing at his son, wondering what had happened. For his part, Ranma was thinking too hard about how to handle the situation to bother with reassuring his father. He still hadn't come to any good solution by the time the meal was over, however Akane took matters into her own hands. She asked him to meet her out in the dojo. Nervously, he agreed.

In the dojo, Akane knelt on the floor without a word of greeting or explanation. With not a little trepidation, Ranma knelt as well, facing her. Silence reigned for several minutes, before Akane spoke. "Ranma, do you truly love me?" she asked him.

Ranma cleared his throat. "Yeah, Akane, I do."

"Do you understand that in choosing to keep Hibiki's secret for the sake of your promise, and thus allowing him to continue treating me that way, that you chose your honor over mine? And do you understand why that was wrong?"

Shame colored Ranma's cheeks and his voice. "Um, yeah. Even if I couldn't break a promise, I should have tried a lot harder to make sure you figured it out. I shouldn't have rested until you knew the truth. I'm so sorry that I was too stupid to realize that a long time ago."

Akane's voice went on, almost emotionlessly, but Ranma knew her well enough to hear the hint of anger in its depths. "Do you have any other secrets like that? Anything else I ought to know, that you've been keeping from me?"

Ranma shook his head, beginning to feel a spark of hope. "No. I promise, there ain't nothing else."

For the first time Akane lifted her eyes, to look straight at him. Her gaze bored deep within him. "Ranma, do you wish to have my forgiveness?"

Ranma sweated under her intent gaze, but didn't even have to consider his answer to this. "Yes, I do. I'll do anything you want to make up for what I did. Just name it."

Akane's voice hardened. "Just saying those words isn't enough. If you want me to forgive you, then you have to swear on your honor that whatever I next ask you to do, you will do to the best of your ability. That there will be no holding back, no hesitation, no equivocation. You will do it because you owe it to me. You will swear this without knowing what I am going to ask."

Ranma swallowed, hard. He knew that if he did make such a vow, that he would be bound by it. He would have no choice but to carry it through. He thought of all the possible things she might ask of him, from the merely humiliating to the terribly painful. ‹You know you have to do this,› he told himself. He bowed his head before her, and spoke. "I swear on my honor as a martial artist, that whatever you next ask me to do, I _will_ do, to the best of my ability."

Akane looked him over carefully, sensing his resolve, and took a deep breath, fighting down her own pride. She reached out and took his large calloused hands in her smaller but equally calloused hands. She waited until he, wondering, raised his head, wanting him to be looking her in the eye for this. "Ranma, I want you to complete my training in the martial arts."

Ranma sucked in his breath sharply. He felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. He could never hit her, could not bring himself to risk hurting her. But in order to fulfill his vow, he would have to. The conflict raged back and forth within his head, until it was stilled by a sequence of recent memories. Akane being abducted here in Nerima, while he was in China. Akane having to fight Kiima at Jusenkyo, while he was on Phoenix Mountain. Emerging from a door under Jusendo mountain to see Akane desperately dodging arrows shot by the Phoenix people. Demonstrably, he would not always be there to protect her, and he could not bear to face the possibility of losing her again. With glistening eyes he whispered to her, "I'll do it, Akane. I promise. I'll train you. It's going to hurt like hell, but I'll do it."

Akane lifted her hands to either side of his face, then leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Ranma. And I forgive you. I love you too much to let what that bastard Hibiki did drive us apart."

Ranma looked around the dojo and asked, "So, uh, do you want to start now? I mean, the sooner the better, right?" Akane nodded happily, and they climbed to their feet, she looking forward to what was coming cheerfully and he with a sense of dread, but both determined.

* * *

The next morning, a Sunday, dawned bright and clear, but Ranma was in no hurry to pull himself out of bed. Today was the day that he would have to face both Cologne and Ukyo, and neither meeting promised to be pleasant. The previous night, while Ranma was massaging the soreness out of Akane's legs after their training session, they had discussed how he should approach the two women. Actually, they had started by arguing over whether or not Akane should accompany him, an argument which he eventually won when he pointed out that her presence would just cause Ukyo additional pain. It would hurt Ukyo even more to have her rival there to watch when she learned that Ranma was going to marry another. His more pragmatic argument remained unvoiced, which didn't matter because Akane realized it all too well. Ranma didn't want her there in case either encounter turned violent. If such happened he did not want the distraction of worrying about Akane's safety.

When he did finally arise, he decided to delay the inevitable by seeking out Akane for an early morning training session. The previous evening, he had been pleasantly surprised by how carefully she listened to the things he told her during training, and how quickly she learned what he demonstrated. Even better, she remembered it all this morning. On the other hand, every bruise she took from performing her blocks, and every time he exposed an opening she left by putting a strike through it, was a wound to his heart. In the end, he left her working on an exercise to help increase her speed while he went to bathe and prepare himself, both physically and mentally, for the upcoming discussions.

It was still early in the morning, much too soon for either restaurant to open for lunch. Ranma walked down the street heading for the Nekohanten, the ramen restaurant run by the Chinese Amazons. Cologne would be there alone, since Shampoo and Mousse had remained in China. His decision to deal with the Amazon elder first was simple enough; if she killed him, there would be little point to bother Ukyo with the knowledge that he had decided to marry Akane. With a sigh he slipped around to the back door of the café, and knocked for admittance. The door opened to show the face of the deceptively frail looking old woman.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Son-in-law! You are back from China!" She looked around from side to side, wondering why no one else was present. "But where are Mousse and Shampoo then?"

"They are safe, elder," Ranma replied stoically, seeing her eyes become more alert at his polite reference rather than his more customary 'old ghoul.' "May I come in? I have a rather long story to tell you."

The Amazon nodded and stepped back, allowing him to enter. She took him through to the kitchen, where she was working on preparations for the lunchtime crowd. At Ranma's urging, she sat across from him at the table and he began the tale from the time the party had taken ship for China. He managed to surprise her many times, though she showed little sign of it. The knowledge of Saffron, and what sort of being he was, shook her. Akane Tendo's sacrifice to save Ranma. Mousse's tactic to free Shampoo from her slavery. The battle with Saffron, and his destruction; she was unable to suppress her surprise entirely at this. Akane's return to life after the battle. Shock when he dismissed Shampoo and forced her to return to the village.

As the story drew to a close, Cologne considered carefully all that she had heard. ‹Shampoo has accepted her fate, otherwise she would never have gone home. This means that the quest is over, and I no longer have a basis to gain this boy for our tribe. Besides, I am convinced of the truth of his tale, and that means that he has grown to the point where it could be dangerous to challenge him. He has not said so directly, but it is clear that he has admitted his love for the Tendo girl, at least to himself, and any further attempt to force him in another direction can only be seen as a threat. Ah well, it was a lot of fun while it lasted.›

Aloud she said, "Well, young _Ranma_, it would seem that our sparring over your destiny has reached an end, and you are victorious after all. Quite amazing. I wish you and Akane Tendo well. I must admit, I found the last couple of years to be more interesting than any of the previous hundred."

Ranma blinked a few times, not sure if he had heard correctly. "That's it? You mean, it's all over with, and you're just going to accept it without a fight?"

Cologne cackled. "Well, I won't say that I'm precisely _happy_ with the outcome. No one likes to lose. However, bringing you back as a husband was Shampoo's quest, not mine. I was simply along to keep up her training and to amuse myself while lending the occasional helping hand. As she has apparently surrendered, there is nothing more for me to do here except to sell this restaurant before returning home. I expect that I'll be gone by the end of the week."

Ranma shook his head, feeling dazed. This was _not_ how he had expected things to go. ‹Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,› he told himself sternly. Standing, he bowed to the old woman. "In that case, I thank you and wish you well, elder. It has been both a pleasure and a terror to know you."

The old woman snorted. "Flatterer. You young men are all alike. Go on, get out of here, you young scamp! I expect you have other stops to make this day." She hopped over to a counter to start putting away supplies she had taken out for the day, and after a final puzzled look Ranma turned and walked out the door.

‹Well, that was ... unexpected,› he thought to himself. ‹I'm sorry now that Akane didn't come along, for that visit at least. I'm not sure she's going to believe me when I tell her about it. I only wish it would go as well when I talk to Ukyo.› He sighed in a melancholy fashion. ‹That would be wishing for rather a lot, wouldn't it?›

It wasn't far to Ucchan's, Ukyo's okonomiyaki restaurant, so all too soon he found himself at the door, looking in. As expected, Ukyo and Konatsu, her cross-dressing server, were already behind the counter, preparing for the lunch opening. Tentatively he raised a hand and knocked on the glass, wincing as he saw Ukyo's face light up at the sight of him. He had a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, and desperately wanted to be anywhere else right now. He watched as she jumped over the counter and ran over to the door, throwing it open and pulling him inside.

"Ran-chan, honey, you're back!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much! Why'd you have to take off without warning me like that? I suppose you heard that Akane disappeared several days after you did? I hope she didn't try to follow you or something equally foolish, but Nabiki hasn't been willing to sell any information on where she went."

Ranma reached back and fiddled with his pigtail nervously. "She was kidnapped by the people I was involved with, so she did end up in China. She came back with me, so we'll both be back in school again tomorrow."

"Hmmph!" Ukyo grumped, with a bit of a glare. "She'd better not have been trying to put any moves on my fiancé while she was traveling with you. Now come on and sit down, I want to hear all about your trip!"

"Um, yeah, and I want to tell you all about it too, Ukyo. There's a lot I have to tell you." His eye didn't miss the fact that she faltered slightly when he called her by name, rather than 'Ucchan.' He saw a little worry crease appear in her forehead as he sat at the counter. She waved to Konatsu to continue with the preparations, while she leaned on the counter to hear his story.

Ranma found himself once more telling the long story, except this time starting at an earlier point, with the arrival of Plum from China. He was embarrassed to realize that in telling parts of the tale, he was taking on some of the cadences of a storyteller. He watched Ukyo's face carefully out of the corner of his eye as he told of Akane's sacrifice, having dared to touch the Kinjakan in order to save him, and his subsequent battle to keep her from dying.

As she listened, Ukyo was growing increasingly nervous, and trying not to show it. For the moment he avoided speaking of declarations of love or marriage intentions, and his long story wound to a close. He was amused to see that at some point during the telling, Konatsu had stopped working, having crept closer until he was right beside Ukyo. He was listening as enrapt as his employer.

"Wow, sugar, that's some story," the young chef said, trying to sound lighthearted, but not entirely successfully. Konatsu nodded his agreement. "I've got to admit, it's a little hard to believe all of it, what with flying people, an immortal being, and Akane shrinking to doll-size and then coming back to life. But at least you're home safe, now, and you've come to see me. Want me to whip up a celebratory okonomiyaki?"

In a tired voice, Ranma said, "There's a bit more that I have to tell you, Ukyo." Again he saw her flinch at the name. "After the battle was over, when I was holding Akane, I thought that I'd lost her forever. At that moment I realized just how much I love her." Ukyo gasped, and started shaking her head, denying that he could be saying this, that she could be hearing it. "After she woke up, I told her, and we've decided to get married this coming summer. I'm really sorry, 'cause I never wanted to hurt you, but I just don't love you the same way that I love Akane."

By this time, Ukyo was shaking her head violently from side to side, gasping out "no" repeatedly. Suddenly she reached across the counter and grabbed Ranma by the shirt, pulling him forward. "No! You can't mean that! _I'm_ your fiancée! I'm the cute one! Your father took my dowry and _promised_ you to me! You have to marry me! You're mine, not hers, mine!"

Ranma forcefully disengaged her hands, holding on to them. "No, Ukyo," he said sadly. "I'm not yours. Or even Akane's. I'm not a possession to be owned, or a prize to be won. I don't belong to whoever's the cutest, or richest, or best cook, or best martial artist, or anything. My idiot pop engaged me to both you and Akane, and I can't marry you both. I'm sorry for you, but her claim came first and she's the one I love. I never wanted anyone to suffer because of me, but my pop didn't leave me much choice, putting me in this situation. However much it hurts you, I had to make a decision, and I'm going to marry Akane."

Madness flared suddenly in Ukyo's eyes, and she grabbed her battle spatula, leaping across the counter, swinging at the boy's head. Ranma managed to block the blow and grabbed the handle, flipping her into the dining area. She landed on her feet and leaped back toward him, swinging the sharp edge with deadly intent. He dodged and parried as best he could, not wanting to hurt her, accepting several tears in his clothing and one long, shallow slice on his forearm. As soon as he maneuvered her to face away from the counter, Konatsu leaped across and poked several pressure points, causing her to collapse bonelessly. Ranma gasped for breath, thanking the genius kunoichi for his help.

"You had better go now, Master Ranma," Konatsu said courteously. "I will tend to Mistress Ukyo when she awakes. I am sure that it was only a temporary madness, and that she will regret her actions once she has a chance to consider the matter."

"Yeah, I hope so," Ranma said wearily as he headed for the door. "Tell her again for me that I'm sorry it had to be this way. I guess I'll see her in school tomorrow. I hope that we can still be friends, but if she doesn't want that, well, I understand." He stepped out the door to see that, however sunny the day may have dawned, a drizzle had now started. He accepted it as befitting his current mood, and barely noticed as he shifted to his female form.

Akane was waiting for him when he got home, opening the door before he reached it. She looked him over with a critical eye, checking for damage. She gave a sigh of relief at the ease with which he moved as he pulled his shoes off, and shook the excess water out of his hair. "All of those cuts look like Ukyo's work," Akane said, a little curiously. "Wasn't Cologne at home, then?"

Ranma snorted. "Yeah, she was there. Surprised the hell out of me though. She accepted what I told her, and admitted defeat. She even wished us well. She said that she expects to be returning to China within the week." As he walked off to the kitchen to get some hot water, he realized that he was alone. Turning back, he saw Akane standing there motionless, in a state of shock. He chuckled, but went on, figuring that she would catch up to him.

He poured the heated water over himself, changing back to male. Akane walked in and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "That wasn't very nice, baka, telling me something like that and then just walking off. Now how about you give me a few more details?" Ranma smiled, and proceeded to tell her everything that had happened at both the Nekohanten and Ucchan's.

"So, you're not sure if Ukyo's accepted it yet or not?" Akane inquired thoughtfully after he had finished.

"No, but there really wasn't much more I could do at the time. We'll just have to wait and see how she reacts after she wakes up. Hopefully she'll listen to Konatsu, and he'll be able to help her see reason."

Akane could see the pain lurking in his eyes as he said this. "It really hurt you a lot to tell her, didn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ranma admitted. "I've known her longer than anyone else, other than Mom and Pop. I don't love her, not romantically, not like I love you, but I do care about her a lot. I hate the thought of losing her friendship. But I don't see what else I could have done."

The misery in his face made Akane want to do something to help. There was one thing that she could think of. Fighting the habit to look around and worry about the reactions of their families, she stepped over and pulled him into a hug. As she held him, his tension slowly dissipated until he hugged her back. Feeling a bit giddy, she gave a thought to the rest of the day. Turning her head until her mouth was at his ear, Akane said quietly, "Ranma, we've been traveling with your father and," she grimaced, "_other_ people, for quite a few days now. Today I'd like to have my fiancé all to myself. Can we go somewhere and do something together, just the two of us?"

"Um, sure." He smiled. "That would be great. What would you like to do?" Feeling a little more peaceful now, they walked off together, making plans. By some quirk of fate, for once they were able to enjoy some time alone together, without anyone interrupting them.


	3. Dating and Beyond

**Jusendo Aftermath  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. This is my suggestion for how the manga _should_ have ended, after Ranma killed Saffron at Jusendo.

* * *

**Chapter 3. Dating and Beyond**

The next day, Akane and Ranma returned to school. As might have been predicted after their long absence, their reappearance generated more than a little turmoil. Tatewaki Kuno met them as soon as they arrived at the schoolyard, demanding to know why Saotome had spirited off the fair Akane Tendo for so long and insisting that he release her from his spells. After pummeling the idiot, they were subjected to a barrage of questions from classmates about where they had been, and whether anything was going on between the two of them, most of which they refused to answer. Some of Akane's so-called friends even asked her outright, in confidence of course, if she was pregnant. Their teachers were skeptical about the excuses they had for missing so much school, and irritably pointed out the amount of work they would have to do in order to make up for time lost.

Neither of them missed the fact that Ukyo did not show up for school that day. On the other hand, Kodachi Kuno put in an appearance at lunchtime, intent on attacking Akane for the perceived insult of running off with her darling Ranma-sama. Dealing with her left Akane very little time in which to eat.

Nabiki, naturally enough, sold the story of what had happened in China to everyone during lunch period, although some of her customers angrily demanded their cash back, saying that if they wanted to read totally unbelievable fiction, then _Sailor Moon_ was less expensive. Nabiki refused all refund requests, telling them to talk to Akane and Ranma if they didn't believe it. So, after lunch, the two of them had to field more questions about their adventures.

After they trained together that evening, Ranma stopped Akane on her way out of the dojo. She turned around and looked at him questioningly. "Was there something else about our training session tonight that you wanted to discuss?" she asked him curiously.

Ranma started nervously tapping fingertips together, while stammering, "Um, well ... not exactly. I mean, no. I wanted to ... uh, I was thinking about dinner Friday."

"What about Friday's dinner?" Akane asked, puzzled. "Was there something in particular that you wanted Kasumi to prepare?"

"Er, no, that's not what I meant." Ranma was looking very frazzled. He turned and walked a couple of paces away, then spun around and walked back. He took Akane's hand in his and seemed to be examining it, then sighed and released it again. "Um ... I was just ... wondering ... if you'd like to eat dinner with me Friday night. I mean alone ... no, together ... I mean just the two of us."

Akane tilted her head down so that she could look into Ranma's eyes, which were trying not to meet her own. "Ranma Saotome," she inquired quietly, "are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

"Uhhh ... yes?"

Akane's smile lit up her face. "Well it's about time! Of course I'd love to go out to dinner with you Friday night. Do you already have someplace in mind?"

Ranma nodded, looking relieved. "I was thinking of Shamaim. I think it'd be good to go to a place that won't remind us of either Ucchan's or the Nekohanten. The food's supposed to be pretty good."

"Sounds nice," she told him, still smiling. Then she leaned forward and kissed him, very lightly, before spinning around and heading in to take her bath. She also wanted to find Kasumi as the safest person to whom she could gush out the news that Ranma had finally asked her out on a date.

Ukyo didn't come to school the next day either. Ranma considered going by her restaurant to check up on her, but Akane persuaded him that he should let her have more time. In the end, he decided to take Akane's advice.

Over the course of the week, the teachers and students at Furinkan gradually accepted the young couple's latest adventure as just one more episode in their chaotic life, and the situation slowly returned to normal. Normal, that is, except that nobody could miss the new closeness between Akane and Ranma, which they weren't troubling very much to hide. They would arrive at school and leave in the afternoon holding hands; they would sit together for lunch and talk peacefully; when Ranma fell asleep during class Akane would merely poke him with a look of fond exasperation. It was rather unnatural, and some of their schoolmates would occasionally look around nervously, wondering what dire consequence might result in order to restore karmic balance. Nabiki raked in quite a bit of money from people who made bets on how long it could last. Ukyo never showed at school all week.

Friday night came at last and Akane found that she was as nervous now as Ranma had been when he asked her out. She took some care with her appearance, even asking Kasumi to help her with her makeup. The effect was captivating, but made her even more nervous about the upcoming date. Her sister had to gently push her out of the room and to the top of the stairs.

Ranma was waiting at the foot of the stairs, trying to deal with the butterflies in his own stomach. He attempted to distract himself by giving some of his attention to the silly game show which Nabiki was watching in the family room. The first time he had seen her watching that show, Ranma had thought it was a bit out of character for her to be interested in something so pointless, but had come to the conclusion that it had something to do with the size of the cash prizes. Maybe she had hopes of appearing on it herself some day, or more likely, talking him into doing so and then splitting the winnings between them.

At the sound of Kasumi clearing her throat, Ranma looked back up the stairs and then nearly fell over. He was staring at Akane, unable to look away, and he became aware that his mouth was opening and closing like a fish. He closed it with a snap, but was still unable to tear his eyes away, or even to say anything.

Akane felt her spirits boosted by his reaction, and giggled lightly as she walked down the stairs. She stopped in front of him, then looked down as she asked, "Do I ... look okay?"

"Kawaii ..." Ranma breathed.

Akane anxiously waited a moment longer, then looked up with a brilliant smile as no "kune" was forthcoming. She slipped her arm through his and said, "Shall we go?" Ranma nodded sharply without saying anything more, and Akane steered him out into the yard and through the gate. They walked slowly down the road toward the restaurant he had chosen.

After a few minutes of putting up with her date just staring ahead blankly while they walked, Akane decided that, while she had enjoyed his initial reaction, enough was enough. She stopped and rounded on him. "Ranma! Either come back to Earth and start paying attention to me, or I'm going back home."

The young man turned and looked at her, then visibly shook himself. "Sorry, Akane. I guess I'm really not used to dealing with this side of you. I'll try to do better." He forced himself to relax, and they continued their walk, talking quietly about recent events.

The restaurant proved to be as good as report claimed, and was different enough from their usual haunts that both of them were able to relax even further and thoroughly enjoy their dinner. They spent most of the meal discussing reactions of their classmates during the past week, and aspects of her martial arts training on which they had been working.

After leaving the restaurant, Ranma led Akane to a small temple nearby. Nearly deserted at this evening hour, it was both quiet and peaceful. Akane looked around, feeling contentment filling her, but also a measure of curiosity. "Why did you want to come here, Ranma?" she asked him.

"Well, for a couple of reasons," he replied. "First, I wanted to give thanks, to whomever was watching over us that day, that you were restored to life at Jusendo. I can hardly bear the thought of how I almost lost you forever." He bowed his head and closed his eyes, and Akane did likewise, silently expressing her thanks for having been given another chance, allowing them to admit their feelings for one another.

After a few minutes, Ranma stirred again and Akane looked into his blue eyes and smiled. He returned her smile and said, "The other reason for coming here was that, um, it seemed like a good place to ask a certain question." He lowered himself to one knee in front of her, holding her hand in both of his. "Akane Tendo, I love you more than I can possibly say. I cannot conceive of my life without you in it, and I want to share the rest of my days with you. Will you marry me, and be my wife, my partner, my friend, forever?" He pulled a small box out of his pocket, and opened it to show her a golden ring with a small diamond set in it.

Akane dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around his neck. Her eyes were very moist and her voice a little wavery but she answered without hesitation. "Yes, Ranma, I want to marry you. I love you too. I'm sorry that it took so long for us to realize it, but I don't ever want to risk losing you again." She pulled back a little allowing him to take her hand and slip the ring onto her finger. They both knelt there, staring at it for several minutes, not speaking, letting the realization spread through them that this moment had truly arrived. Taking a deep breath of utter happiness, Akane turned her shining eyes toward her fiancé.

He met her gaze with a cocky grin. "Glad you didn't go back home after all?" he asked.

"Huh?" She looked at him confused, not understanding.

"Back before dinner," he elaborated. "When you threatened to go home if I didn't wake up and start paying attention."

She pursed her lips, trying for a look of outrage but failing to achieve it. Akane attempted a mock slap, but Ranma caught her hand and then pulled her toward him. Their lips came together, at first with a gentle sweetness, but then searingly, with rising passion, as liquid fire spread from this point of contact throughout their bodies to completely engulf them. With difficulty they recalled their surroundings and pulled apart, looking deep into one another's eyes.

"So, um, are you sure about waiting until the end of July?" Akane asked him teasingly.

"Don't tempt me," Ranma answered with a chuckle. "We both know it's for the best for a lot of reasons. But right now there's an animal part of me that wants to run off with you and elope right this minute."

"Mmmm," the sound coming from her throat let him know that there was a part of her which also agreed with this sentiment. "So, shall we go home instead and let the families know that it's finally official?"

"Yeah, might as well," he answered. "But why don't we take the long way home, through the park?" It occurred to him that there were several private spots along the way where he might be able to convince Akane to dally for a while.

Akane laughed softly. "For a baka, that's not a bad idea. That way, you might find some chances to get in some more practice kissing me. I think you could use the practice. Besides, at least I can feel confident that you won't be dodging me for this sort of 'training'."

Ranma drew himself up indignantly. "Whaddya mean, 'I could use the practice.' Are you suggesting I'm no good at kissing?" His expression suddenly looked a little forlorn. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Akane smiled at him, then leaned over and kissed him lightly. "No, baka, you're fine. I just want to enjoy the practice. And who knows? Maybe it will get even better, hard though it may be to believe." They walked off hand in hand, heading for the park which was only slightly out of the way home.

Despite some pauses for 'training,' the two of them arrived at the house all too quickly. As they walked through the door, they saw that Kasumi was already running toward them in her apron, squealing in delight. ‹How did she know?› Akane wondered to herself. Kasumi threw her arms around her little sister, hugging her tightly, murmuring congratulations. Then she pulled back to lift Akane's left hand and admire the ring.

The others drifted into the front hallway, their curiosity aroused by Kasumi's squeal and the breathless noises she was now making. Akane looked at Ranma and shrugged with a smile. On the way home they had discussed how they were going to announce their acceptance of the engagement, and had envisioned a scene where they would gather everyone together in the family room and make a formal announcement. It seemed that the kami watching over them had something else in mind. As soon as Nodoka caught sight of the ring, she began to squeal as well, and grabbed Akane's hand to take a closer look. Nabiki stood speechless, her lower jaw hanging, unable to credit that the two of them had finally gone and made it official. Ranma desperately wished he had a camera to record her expression so that _he_ could sell embarrassing photos of _her_ for once. Soun predictably sent forth a gusher of tears, hugging and soaking everyone indiscriminately. Genma, a little better prepared for this moment than everyone else, merely beamed at his son and heir while entertaining visions of the united school, filled with little Saotome's all learning martial arts.

The group eventually made its way back to the family room. Genma and Soun brought out sake to celebrate, pouring for everyone and proposing toasts to the happy young couple. Akane knelt down beside Ranma close enough for their knees to touch, and took his arm in hers. As she related the details of their date and the proposal, Kasumi and Nodoka reacted with happy exclamations.

On the other hand, Ranma couldn't help but notice Nabiki standing off to one side, an intent expression on her face, her lips moving occasionally with nods of her head. He felt a measure of disgust, as she was obviously making mental notes, likely with an eye toward settling the various wagers she'd accepted against this day. He resolutely turned back to Akane, putting her sister out of his mind so as not to spoil his current happiness.

As she related the story, Akane kept her eyes fixed on the ring Ranma had slipped onto her finger, an expression of wonder on her face. She still found it difficult to believe that it was really there.

"So, Akane," her father began, wearing a huge grin on his face, "it's time to make plans for the wedding. I can have a priest here in a day or two ..."

Akane cut him off short. "You are correct that it is time to start planning for the wedding, but it is not going to be done in haste. Ranma and I have already discussed the date, and we want to wait until the end of July or beginning of August to get married, during the coming summer break."

Soun Tendo made a face, and shook his head. "Nonsense. There's no need to wait that long. We should do it immediately."

"No." Akane insisted, coldly. "We can't possibly do it properly any sooner than summer break, and my wedding will be done properly. Also, to be perfectly frank, Ranma and I need some time to adjust to the idea. It wasn't that many days ago that we were both loudly denying that we would ever get married."

Akane went on, overriding her father's attempt to interrupt again. "Furthermore, and I'm sorry to say this daddy, but I don't feel that you or Uncle Genma are the proper people to do the planning. If Kasumi and Auntie Nodoka would help me, the three of us can take care of all the necessary planning."

Ranma's mother was smiling the sort of grin a shark might envy, while giving her husband a look which warned him to hold his peace. "I quite agree with Akane. While I certainly want to see our two children married as soon as possible, I want their wedding to be a wonderful event. And that means it will not be done with undue haste. The break after the end of the next school term sounds like an excellent choice to me."

Soun frowned rebelliously at these pronouncements. He looked over at his dutiful daughter Kasumi, but she gazed back coolly and shook her head slightly. He realized that he would get no support from any of the women in the room. When he turned to Genma, even his old friend failed him. Ranma's father shrugged his shoulders and said, "They seem quite determined, Tendo. Look at it this way. They've finally agreed to get married, so why rock the boat? It's only a few months." With a sigh, Soun admitted defeat.

* * *

Monday morning found Akane and Ranma once more walking through the school gates holding hands, except that this time they could each feel the ring on her finger within their handclasp. As was to be expected, Kuno met them just inside the gate and demanded that Ranma release the "fair flower of womanhood, Akane Tendo."

Akane, sounding utterly bored, asked, "So which one of us do you want to thrash you today, Kuno? Me? Or Ranma?"

"You do jest with me, beauteous one," Kuno intoned. "I shall cut down this scurrilous rogue, and then you shall be free to express your love to me."

"I think that means me," Ranma said, in a hesitant tone which sounded like he wasn't completely certain. "I'll just be a moment and then we can go to class."

Akane released his hand and blew him a kiss, then backed off. The students watching the byplay from a distance were shocked at her gesture, but none was as shocked as Tatewaki Kuno. He was standing close enough to detect the glint of the ring upon her finger and knew what it implied. Kuno's face turned scarlet, to the point where onlookers expected to see steam coming out of his ears. Then he shouted the single word "Never!" and swung hard at Ranma.

Of course, Ranma was expecting the attack. He easily avoided the blow, and delivered a kick to Kuno's fundament, calling out, "Never say never!" Kuno swung back around and stopped short in puzzlement, not seeing the pigtailed boy where he expected. He was still hunting around for him when Ranma dropped out of the sky onto the kendoist's back, and put him out with a tap on the skull. Ranma then walked over to Akane, reclaimed her hand in his, and the pair continued on into the school.

Once in the classroom, the couple went to their desks, and pulled their schoolwork out of their bags. They didn't even notice the group of girls who suddenly went silent, staring at Akane's finger and the ring it now bore. This was followed by a rapid spate of breathless whispering and ended with all the girls in the class rushing over to surround the startled Akane, buffeting her with questions. When the boys realized what the girls were going on about, they turned to regard Ranma with shock shading to awe, then surrounded him, demanding answers.

Akane and Ranma slowly got across the information that they had admitted their feelings to one another during their recent adventure in China, and had formalized the matter on Friday night. It took a while to explain it all, an endeavor made all the more slow by late arriving students drifting in and wanting to know everything from the beginning. At one point, Ranma turned to Akane and called over the heads of the students between them, "Maybe we _should_ have let Nabiki print up pamphlets."

The first warning they had of potential trouble was the clamor cutting off as sharply as if with a knife. Akane and Ranma looked up to find that Ukyo was standing in the classroom door, staring at the two of them and the surrounding crowd of classmates. A path cleared between the martial artists as fellow students quickly moved out of the way, reluctant to stand in a possible combat zone.

Ukyo's eyes were twitching at the little bit she had overheard. She kept reminding herself over and over of what she had promised to Konatsu that morning, when he had talked her into leaving all of her spatulas at the restaurant. As the last of the students moved out of her line of sight, Ukyo caught a glimpse of gold on Akane's finger, and promptly forgot all of her promises. With a cry of anguish she dove for Akane, the one thought in her mind to annihilate her rival. Ranma interposed himself between them and bound Ukyo's arms to her sides using his own. She continued to struggle for a couple of minutes, but finally recognized the futility of it and went limp. Ukyo could see Akane gazing at her with sad eyes, teeth biting her lip, and felt as if someone had driven a spear through her chest. Quickly, though not quickly enough, she tore her eyes away from the sight. Ranma sighed and pulled her without resistance into the hallway. A glare tossed back toward the classroom prevented anyone from following them.

"Ukyo," Ranma whispered urgently, "I'm sorry, but after our talk last week you had to have known that this was coming."

"Let go of me, Saotome!" she spat.

"First, promise you won't try to hurt Akane," he countered.

After a long, furious moment, she inclined her head in agreement. Ranma released her, and she shook herself. Voice breaking, she said, "I just wasn't expecting it this soon, let alone my first day back in school. I wasn't ready for the sight of that ... ring." She scrubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, then looked up, glaring angrily. "I haven't forgiven either of you. But I've got myself under control now, so let's just go back in there. The bell is about to ring."

Without waiting for a response, Ukyo turned and marched back into the classroom, her head high and a flame in her eye that prevented anyone from daring to speak. Ranma watched her for a moment, worry clearly written on his face. Then he sighed and walked back in, sitting down at his desk. He ignored the questioning looks, and then the bell rang, forcing everyone to take their seats.

Kuno had to be pummeled into unconsciousness again, both at lunchtime, by Akane, and after school, by Ranma. Also after school, Kodachi showed up, having heard by some unknown means of Akane's engagement ring, and demanding loudly that it be turned over to her. The two fought briefly, after which Akane dumped her unconscious body beside that of her equally inert brother. Smoothing down her skirt, she gave Ranma a sunny smile, and they left to go home for their afternoon training session.

* * *

A couple of weeks brought an end to the school year, and the activity around the household centered around Nabiki's graduation and the party which would be held in celebration. The middle Tendo was ecstatic over her acceptance at Tokyo University, where she planned to study Finance. On an early afternoon, both families arrived at the Furinkan High school grounds for the graduation ceremony. Luckily, the weather was perfect.

As the invited speaker was droning on, Akane leaned over close to Ranma's ear and whispered, "Can you believe we're going to be seniors?"

Ranma smiled, and whispered back, "I never had a doubt that you would be someday. Now me on the other hand ..." He chuckled. "I'm just glad we won't have to put up with Kuno after this. At least not as much, since he'll still be living here in the city. It's a pity he didn't decide to go on to some college, preferably one located far, far away." Akane gave a brief laugh as well, then settled back into her seat, schooling her features not to show her boredom.

Eventually the ceremony drew to a close, and people were hugging and congratulating Nabiki, while taking photographs of her with everyone there. Even Ranma gave her a half-hearted embrace. As the group was preparing to leave, wanting to get home in time to meet the guests who had been invited to the party, Ranma hissed a warning in Akane's ear. "Heads up. Here comes Kuno." Akane looked up in the direction Ranma was facing, to see the would-be samurai approaching them, wearing his graduation robes but carrying a bokken.

Akane was about to say something scathing to the approaching fool, but Nabiki cut in before her, witheringly. "Kuno-baby, just what the hell do you think you're about to do? We don't have time to put up with your nonsense. If you muss up either Ranma or Akane right before _my_ graduation party, you are _so_ going to pay!"

The other new graduate looked down his nose at her. "Fear not, Nabiki Tendo, I am not here today to issue a challenge. I merely wished to reassure my fierce tigress that my thoughts will still be with her, even though my absence from this institution will constrain me from daily offering her the opportunity to express her love to me. Saotome, foul sorcerer, do not imagine that I shall forget what you have done, ensorcelling the fair one into this unholy engagement. I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Nerima, shall retire for the nonce to my estate, but the day shall come when I shall emerge to defeat you!" He turned and strode off.

"What a nut," Akane declared, and everyone nodded in agreement.

A few weeks later Akane and Ranma started their senior year in high school while Nabiki began her studies at Tokyo University. One significant surprise was that Ukyo did not show up when the new school year began, and Ranma was reluctant to go by her restaurant to learn why. Nabiki provided the answer, her sources having informed her that the okonomiyaki chef had transferred to a different high school, presumably not wishing to share a classroom with Akane and Ranma, where she would have to see them together.

Plans for the wedding and reception to occur in July were proceeding apace and, as Akane had insisted to her father, those plans were mostly being made by herself, Kasumi and Nodoka. Each time the two fathers attempted to make some grand suggestion to improve things, the three women would stare at them in icy silence until they slunk out of the room and returned to their shogi game. After much discussion the trio, with Ranma's agreement, had decided on a very small western-style ceremony, although without best man or bridesmaids, to be held at the temple where Ranma had proposed to Akane. Afterward there would be a very large reception, held in the dojo and on the surrounding grounds, to which it seemed that half of Nerima was being invited. The half _not_ chasing after either Akane or Ranma, if the future bride and groom had anything to say about it.

Meanwhile, Ranma continued to train Akane, who was progressing at such a rapid pace in the martial arts that he felt ashamed at his previous reluctance to help her in this regard. Besides, he had discovered a wonderful benefit of her training. After these sessions, Akane would be so sore that she gratefully permitted him to massage the aches out of her muscles, and his hands were being allowed to gradually come closer to areas of her body which would have seen him malleted to the moon not so very long ago. This tacit permission would then carry over later when she was sitting in his lap and they were kissing. Ranma did not guess that Akane had planned for things to happen in that way, as a means to allow the two of them to learn to accept and become accustomed to physical intimacy as their wedding night slowly drew closer.

At the end of the first month of the school year, the repairs to the Saotome house were finally completed, fixing the damage done by the other fiancées shortly before the Jusendo adventure. Ranma's mother and father moved back into that house but, much to his relief, Ranma was permitted to remain at the Tendo's after both he and Akane had expressed their desire for him to do so. As a concession for not being permitted to help plan for the wedding, the two fathers were given the task of furnishing the Tendo guest room as a bedroom suitable for the soon to be married couple. Naturally, they were closely supervised at this task to make sure they did nothing particularly foolish. After the wedding Akane's old bedroom would become a guest room.

* * *

The day set aside for the wedding finally arrived, although Ranma could have wished for better weather. The sky was overcast and promising rain. It was decided that everyone in the wedding party would carry umbrellas with them to the temple, to keep both Ranma and his father in their own shapes, if at all possible. Neither Akane nor Ranma ate much breakfast, both being too nervous to have any appetite. They gave each other one last quick hug before they were whisked off to separate rooms to be dressed in their tuxedo and gown. As was to be expected, Ranma was ready long before Akane and was nervously pacing back and forth in his room waiting to hear that it was time to go.

At long last his mother stuck her head in the door and said brightly, "Akane is ready now, dear. Try to calm down, and let's go downstairs." Ranma swallowed a large lump, and followed her down to the family room.

A few minutes later he looked up to see Kasumi and Nabiki entering the room, followed by a vision of surpassing loveliness. He had always known that Akane was beautiful, but today she was absolutely stunning. She shyly said, "Hello Ranma," and he tried to greet her in return, but was only able to manage something like, "Aguh ... Gwufa? Ooga? Whoa." Akane smiled, feeling pleased with his reaction. In a cheerful voice which nonetheless held a hint of warning, she remarked, "Now let's not have any flashbacks to our first date, Ranma. I want you paying attention to our wedding."

Ranma seemed to wake up, then laughed and shook his head, offering his arm to escort her to the hired limousine. The first stop was the city hall, which Nabiki had pulled some strings to get them into despite the fact it was a weekend. Everyone marched into the appropriate office and filled out the paperwork which would make Akane and Ranma legally married, and watched as it was properly filed. At an early point in planning the wedding, it was decided to take this step _before_ the ceremony. Now, no matter what other chaos the day might bring, the marriage was recorded and legal. Ranma looked at Akane curiously, a look which she returned, as they realized that as far as the government of Japan was concerned they were now married. Of course, they didn't _feel_ married yet, but they were due to take care of that next.

Leaving the building, they climbed once more into the limousine, which now took them to the temple for the religious ceremony. The one which would make them feel married. The day was pretty in a not-very-sunny sort of way, but the sky was growing darker and everyone was casting nervous glances at it. Still, the rain was holding off so far.

They all entered the temple, sighing in relief that things seemed to be going smoothly. Ranma walked to the front of the room where the priest was waiting to begin. Nabiki started the music for the wedding march, and Soun Tendo escorted his daughter Akane to stand beside Ranma and placed her hand in her fiancé's.

Akane gazed into Ranma's blue eyes, and he looked back into her brown, and the rest of the world faded away, leaving only the two of them. They were both vaguely aware of someone speaking at length, and both of them murmured the words "I do" at some sort of half-recognized prompting, but neither was afterward able to recall anything which had been said. In a dreamlike state they slipped the wedding rings on each other's fingers, and then moved forward to kiss, forcing the priest to slightly rush his permission for said kiss. When they pulled back from their kiss, they were both beaming so brightly that it could have lit the entire room. Ranma whispered "my wife" at the same time that Akane whispered "my husband," and then they were surrounded by the members of both families, offering congratulations.

One more brief ride in the limousine brought them back to the house, and they managed to enter the dojo just before it started drizzling outside. The photographer took some more pictures of the newly married couple, both alone and with members of their families, and then the guests began to arrive. Their classmates were among the first arrivals, and quickly came over to congratulate the newlyweds, except for Hikaru Gosunkugi, who proceeded to nail voodoo dolls to the dojo walls while crying. There were many people whom Ranma knew only vaguely or not at all, such as friends of the parents, members of the town council, or distant relatives of both the Tendo and Saotome families. He was amused to see that the old woman who constantly managed to splash him with her ladle was present, although without the ladle.

Just as the party was getting underway, Ukyo came in carrying a stack of okonomiyaki. Without warning she launched a couple of them at Ranma who, although rather startled, attempted to catch them. Unfortunately they exploded when they reached him, knocking him backwards, and scorching his tuxedo rather badly. Ukyo darted forward to grab Ranma, snarling, "We need to get you out of here before they can start the ceremony, Ranma honey."

However, she was cut off as Kodachi Kuno suddenly appeared in front of her, wearing a black wedding dress, and taking the slightly charred Ranma into her arms. She told him, "Hang in there, Ranma-sama. I'll save you from having to marry that harpy, Akane Tendo."

Ukyo watched this scene and yelled in shocked tones of disbelief, "Showing up here in a wedding dress? Have you no shame?" Then more thoughtfully, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Ranma, who had been regaining consciousness, opened his eyes to sudden danger. He leaped out of Kodachi's arms just before a katana descended through the space where he'd been lying. Tatewaki Kuno raised his sword once more, declaring loudly, "Saotome, you cur! How _dare_ you attempt to conduct a wedding with the fair Akane Tendo without _my_ permission! I will not allow it!" Again he attempted to carve the groom into small pieces.

Dancing around the swinging blade, Ranma shouted back, "Why would we need _your_ permission?"

Akane, and most of the others watched these events in a state of shock. A voice called out over Kuno's blustering, "Sweeto! Let me kiss the bride!" Happosai appeared in front of Akane, latching onto her wedding gown, intent on glomping her. A glowing mallet appeared out of nowhere, and the miniature martial artist was launched through the roof of the dojo. Unfortunately, cold rainwater poured in through the hole he made, aimed unerringly for Ranma, causing him to change into a red-haired girl wearing a tuxedo.

"P-pigtailed goddess?" Kuno's voice was quite strained as his delusional brain tried to cope with the fact that the redhead he loved was standing in the same spot that the evil Saotome had occupied a moment before, and wearing the exact same tuxedo.

"R-ranma-sama?" stammered his only slightly less delusional sister Kodachi, as the transformation she had just witnessed finally began to penetrate her brain for the first time.

Akane turned to her sister Nabiki, her voicing rising quickly in outrage, "Nabiki! This is your fault isn't it? You sent out invitations to every lunatic in Tokyo!"

"Of course," Nabiki replied coolly. "After all, each guest is obligated to bring a gift of money."

Akane counted slowly to ten, not that it helped much. She asked in a grim voice, "And exactly why do they think that they can show up at our reception and stop the wedding which already took place?"

Nabiki answered smugly, "Because the invitations they got said that the wedding _ceremony_ was being held at the dojo, at this time. Otherwise, they might have made an effort to find the real ceremony earlier, and might have showed up to cause trouble then."

Akane was on the verge of shouting something back, but just stopped with her mouth still open, and then slowly closed it. That last argument almost made sense, somehow.

In the meantime, not having heard the conversation between the sisters, Ukyo took advantage of the current state of shock of the two Kuno siblings to rush up and grab Ranma's arm. "Come on Ranma sugar," she urged him, "we need to hurry and get out of here before they can force you into this marriage!"

Ranma turned and gave Ukyo a very puzzled look. "Um, Ukyo, first of all, I already told you months ago that I love Akane and wanted to marry her. Nobody forced me into this."

"No!" Ukyo shouted. "You can't love her! You're mine, and you have to marry me!"

Kodachi's eyes widened as this conversation served to confirm the suspicion which was forcing its way into her head despite her best effort to prevent its entrance. Beside her, her brother was beginning to shake like a leaf.

Ranma was rapidly losing patience with Ukyo. "No, I am not yours! We've already gone over this. Anyway, it doesn't matter any more. I don't know what idea you've managed to get in your head about what's going on, but you've interrupted our wedding _reception_! We were _married_ earlier!" He thrust his left hand in front of the stunned girl's eyes, the wedding ring on his finger clearly visible.

Ukyo's eyes rolled up in her head and she started to fall. Before she could hit the floor, Konatsu had dropped from the ceiling and caught her in his arms. "Oh, mistress Ukyo, why did you insist on this? Why didn't you listen?" Still holding the woman he loved in his arms, he bowed to Ranma, turned and bowed to Akane, then left to take the forlorn chef back home, carrying her unconscious form.

Akane joined Ranma, taking the red-haired girl's arm in hers, and as one they turned to face the Kuno's. Kodachi once more tentatively asked, "Ranma?" to which he nodded. The gymnast swallowed heavily once, and then again. "I see. I do not know what manner of creature you are, but I must inform you that one such as yourself is certainly not worthy to be seen in my presence. I insist that you do not trouble me again in future." Ranma simply nodded, his face shifting from startled to bemused.

All three of them turned to regard the elder Kuno sibling, who was staring off into space and muttering to himself. "Some strange magic ... the vile sorcerer disappeared and the pigtailed goddess was standing in his place. She claimed to be married to Akane Tendo ... but of course that is impossible. It was stated that Saotome married my tigress earlier today. Was I indeed too late to stop this travesty ...?" His voice trailed off into noises too low to overhear.

Kodachi laughed, saying, "It seems that my brother may intend to convince himself that he has _not_ been in love with a man all of this time. That will never do. I shall convince him of the truth of it, that I may enjoy taunting him about it for years to come. And now, it is time for us to leave this peasant's hut." With that, she knocked Tatewaki over the head with a club, wrapped him up in a ribbon, and proceeded to drag him out of the dojo.

The pair watched the Kuno's leave, hoping that it might be for the last time. Akane spoke in a considering tone, "You know, taken all in all, this hasn't worked out so badly. Given the kind of chaos that seems to erupt in our lives, I'm surprised that this day didn't turn out a lot worse. I mean, can you imagine what today would have been like if, in addition to those troublemakers, Shampoo and Mousse were still in town? And if they had showed up at our wedding instead of the reception?"

A pained expression crossed Ranma's face. "I'd really rather not. I can easily imagine that we might have ended up not getting married at all, and I would have hated that."

Akane gave her new husband a brief hug and a peck on the cheek. "Come on and let's find you some hot water. That body looks ridiculous in a tuxedo."

* * *

That night found the newly married couple at an onsen inn up in the mountains. The training that Akane had put them through paid off as they confidently climbed under the blankets together and focused on providing pleasure to one another, building up to their first experience with the ultimate physical expression of their love. And their second. And their third. The night hours were well advanced toward dawn before sleep finally started to claim them, with Akane's head lying on Ranma's chest. Her eyes closed, and feeling utterly content and happy, Akane murmured, "Tell me one more time, Ranma, please?"

Ranma smiled, feeling sleep claiming him. He whispered, "I love you, Akane Saotome, now and forever."

His wife whispered back, with her last waking thoughts, "And I love you, Ranma Saotome, with all my heart and all my soul."

The moon looked in through the window, bathing the sleeping couple in soft light as they lay there in each other's arms. The coming days might bring them new adventures, but for this night, at least, they were allowed to enjoy the peace they had earned.

**THE END **

* * *

**Author's note:**

Well, there you have it. My suggestion for how the manga _should_ have ended. It wasn't intended to tie off every loose end perfectly. Will Ukyo accept the situation now that they're married? How about Kuno? Happosai is still a problem. The parents probably won't stop interfering. Life's like that. All of the problems aren't solved, but this stage of their life has reached a reasonable conclusion.


End file.
